BUSAN, South Korea (AFP) – Hollywood producer Jon Landau said Friday he had no doubt that his latest feature with "Titanic" director James Cameron would live up to its billing as the year's most-anticipated film.The 300-million-dollar "Avatar", packed with computer-generated imagery and 3-D effects, is the pair's first project together since scooping 11 Oscars with "Titanic" in 1998."Any fear about this film is long behind us," Landau said on the sidelines of the 14th Pusan International Film Festival in South Korea, after screening 30-minutes of selected scenes from the film."When we started it was a little like the people at NASA who first went to the moon," he said."When John Kennedy said they were going to put someone on the moon,they didn't really know how they were going to do it and when westarted we had an idea but we had no idea how we were going to do iteither."Landau and Cameron have spent the past four-and-a-half years putting the new filmtogether, promising a combination of computer-generated imagery, 3-Deffects and live action, the likes of which the world has never seen.The pair seem to be on the money -- just as they were with "Titanic",which despite doubts from initial test screenings and critics went onto gross close to two billion dollars worldwide, making it the all-time box office champion."Avatar" follows the exploits of paraplegic army veteran who is takento another world where his genes are mixed with those of an aliencreature -- the new being becoming the "avatar" of the film's title."The excitement for me is that we are finally going to be able to showsomething that we have been working on for four-and-a-half years.Because a film is nothing if no one sees it," said Landau."No single movie can revolutionise the movie industry but one film canbe a step in the evolution of movies. What we think we are doing hereis unlocking the door for more filmmakers to tell more stories.""Avatar" is set for its worldwide release on December 18th.

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A dozen years later, James Cameron has proven his point: He is king of theworld.

As commander-in-chief of an army of visual-effects technicians, creature designers,motion-capture mavens, stunt performers, dancers, actors and musicand sound magicians, he brings science-fiction movies into the 21stcentury with the jaw-dropping wonder that is "Avatar." And he didit almost from scratch.

There is no underlying novel or myth to generate his story. Hecertainly draws deeply on Westerns, going back to "The VanishingAmerican" and, in particular, "Dances With Wolves." And theAmerican tragedy in Vietnam informs much of his story. But then allgreat stories build on the past ("Avatar" premiered Thursday in London).

After writing this story many years ago, he discovered that thetechnology he needed to make it happen did not exist. So, he wentout and created it in collaboration with the best effects minds in the business. This is motion capturebrought to a new high where every detail of the actors'performances gets preserved in the final CG character as theyappear on the screen. Yes, those eyes are no longer dead holes butbig and expressive, almost dominating the wide and long alienfaces.

But let's cut to the chase: A fully believable, flesh-and-blood(albeit not human flesh and blood) romance is the beating heart of"Avatar." Cameron has never made a movie just to show off visualpyrotechnics: Every bit of technology in "Avatar" serves thegreater purpose of a deeply felt love story (watch the trailer here).

The story takes place in 2154, three decades after a multinationalcorporation has established a mining colony on Pandora, a planetlight years from Earth. A toxic environment and hostile natives --one corporate apparatchik calls the locals "blue monkeys" -- forcesthe conglom to engage with Pandora by proxy. Humans dwell inoxygen-drenched cocoons but move out into mines or to confront theplanet's hostile creatures in hugely fortified armor and roboticsor -- as avatars.

The protagonist, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), is a crippled formerMarine who takes his late twin brother's place in the avatarprogram, a sort of bone thrown to the scientific community by thecorporation in hopes that the study of Pandora and its populationmight create a more peaceful planet.

Without any training, Jake suddenly must learn how to link hisconsciousness to an avatar, a remotely controlled biological bodythat mixes human DNA with that of the native population, the Na'vi.Since he is incautious and overly curious, he immediately rushesinto the fresh air -- to a native -- to throw open Pandora's manyboxes.

What a glory Cameron has created for Jake to romp in, all in acrisp 3D realism. It's every fairy tale about flying dragons, magicplants, weirdly hypnotic creepy-crawlies and feral dogs rolled upinto a rain forest with a highly advanced spiritual design. Itseems -- although the scientists led by Sigourney Weaver's top dochave barely scratched the surface -- a flow of energy ripplesthrough the roots of trees and the spores of the plants, which theNa'vi know how to tap into.

The center of life is a holy tree where tribal memories and thewisdom of their ancestors is theirs for the asking. This is whatthe humans want to strip mine.

Jake manages to get taken in by one tribe where a powerful,Amazonian named Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) takes him under her wing toteach him how to live in the forest, speak the language and honorthe traditions of nature. Yes, they fall in love but Cameron hasnever been a sentimentalist: He makes it tough on his lovebirds.

They must overcome obstacles and learn each other's heart. TheNa'vi have a saying, "I see you," which goes beyond the visual. Itmeans I see into you and know your heart.

In his months with the Na'vi, Jake experiences their life as the"true world" and that inside his crippled body locked in acoffin-like transponding device, where he can control his avatar,is as the "dream." The switch to the other side is gradual for hisbody remains with the human colony while his consciousness issometimes elsewhere.

He provides solid intelligence about the Na'vi defensivecapabilities to Col. Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), the ramrod headof security for the mining consortium and the movie's villain. Butas Jake comes to see things through Neytiri's eyes, he hopes toestablish enough trust between the humans and the natives tonegotiate a peace. But the corporation wants the land the Na'vioccupy for its valuable raw material so the Colonel sees no purposein this.

The battle for Pandora occupies much of the final third of thefilm. The planet's animal life -- the creatures of the ground andair -- give battle along with the Na'vi, but they come up againstprojectiles, bombs and armor that seemingly will be theirruin.

As with everything in "Avatar," Cameron has coolly thought thingsthrough. With every visual tool he can muster, he takes viewersthrough the battle like a master tactician, demonstrating how everyturn in the fight, every valiant death or cowardly act, changes itscourse. The screen is alive with more action and the soundtrackpops with more robust music than any dozen sci-fi shoot-'em-ups youcare to mention (watch the "Avatar" video game trailer here).

In years of development and four years of production no detail inthe pic is unimportant. Cameron's collaborators excel beginningwith the actors. Whether in human shape or as natives, they allbring terrific vitality to their roles.

Mauro Fiore's cinematography is dazzling as it melts all the visualelements into a science-fiction whole. You believe in Pandora. Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg's design brings Cameron'sscreenplay to life with disarming ease.

James Horner's score never intrudes but subtlety eggs the action onwhile the editing attributed to Cameron, Stephen Rivkin and JohnRefoua maintains a breathless pace that exhilarates rather thanfatigues. Not a minute is wasted; there is no down time.

You could be right but I believe that the movie industry as a whole is moving toward more "blockbuster" films for economic reasons and specifically CGI will play a bigger and bigger role. Will it ever replace live actors ? Probably not, although we shouldn't limit our view to just the next 20 years or so. But I think that CGI even in the short term will become a major player in all types of productions not just SF and action types.

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Watching "Avatar," I felt sort of the same as when I saw "Star Wars" in 1977. That was another movie I walked into with uncertain expectations. James Cameron's film has been the subject of relentlessly dubious advance buzz, just as his "Titanic"was. Once again, he has silenced the doubters by simply delivering anextraordinary film. There is still at least one man in Hollywood whoknows how to spend $250 million, or was it $300 million, wisely."Avatar" is not simply a sensational entertainment, although it isthat. It's a technical breakthrough. It has a flat-out Green andanti-war message. It is predestined to launch a cult. It contains suchvisual detailing that it would reward repeating viewings. It invents anew language, Na'vi, as "Lord of the Rings" did, although mercifully Idoubt this one can be spoken by humans, even teenage humans. It createsnew movie stars. It is an Event, one of those films you feel you mustsee to keep up with the conversation.

The story, set in the year 2154, involves a mission by U. S. ArmedForces to an earth-sized moon in orbit around a massive star. This newworld, Pandora, is a rich source of a mineral Earth desperately needs.Pandora represents not even a remote threat to Earth, but wenevertheless send in the military to attack and conquer them. Gung-hoMarines employ machine guns and pilot armored hover ships on bombingruns. You are free to find this an allegory about contemporarypolitics. Cameron obviously does.

Pandora harbors a planetaryforest inhabited peacefully by the Na'vi, a blue-skinned, golden-eyedrace of slender giants, each one perhaps 12 feet tall. The atmosphereis not breathable by humans, and the landscape makes us pygmies. Toventure out of our landing craft, we use avatars--Na'vi lookalikesgrown organically and mind-controlled by humans who remain wired up ina trance-like state on the ship. While acting as avatars, they see,fear, taste and feel like Na'vi, and have all the same physicaladeptness.

This last quality is liberating for the hero, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington),who is a paraplegic. He's been recruited because he's a genetic matchfor a dead identical twin, who an expensive avatar was created for. Inavatar state he can walk again, and as his payment for this duty hewill be given a very expensive operation to restore movement to hislegs. In theory he's in no danger, because if his avatar in destroyed,his human form remains untouched. In theory.

On Pandora, Jake begins as a good soldier and then goes native after his life is saved by the lithe and brave Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). He finds it is indeed true, as the aggressive Col. Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang)briefed them, that nearly every species of life here wants him forlunch. (Avatars are not be made of Na'vi flesh, but try explaining thatto charging 30-ton rhino with a snout like a bullet head shark).

The Na'vi survive on this planet by knowing it well, living in harmonywith nature, and being wise about the creatures they share with. Inthis and countless other ways they resemble Native Americans. Likethem, they tame another species to carry them around--not horses, butgraceful flying dragon-like creatures. The scene involving Jakecapturing and taming one of these great beasts is one of the film'sgreats sequences.

Like "Star Wars"and "LOTR," "Avatar" employs a new generation of special effects.Cameron said it would, and many doubted him. It does. Pandora is bevylargely CGI. The Na'vi are embodied through motion capture techniques,convincingly. They look like specific, persuasive individuals, yetsidestep the eerie Uncanny Valley effect. And Cameron and his artistssucceed at the difficult challenge of making Neytiri a blue-skinnedgiantess with golden eyes and a long, supple tail, and yet--I'll bedamned. Sexy.

At 163 minutes, the film doesn't feel too long.It contains so much. The human stories. The Na'vi stories, for theNa'vi are also developed as individuals. The complexity of the planet,which harbors a global secret. The ultimate warfare, with Jake joiningthe resistance against his former comrades. Small graceful details likea floating creature that looks like a cross between a blowing dandelionseed and a drifting jellyfish, and embodies goodness. Or astonishingfloating cloud-islands.

I've complained that many recent filmsabandon story telling in their third acts and go for wall-to-wallaction. Cameron essentially does that here, but has invested well inestablishing his characters so that it matters what they do in battle and how they do it. There are issues at stake greater than simply which side wins.

Cameron promised he'd unveil the next generation of 3-D in "Avatar."I'm a notorious skeptic about this process, a needless distraction fromthe perfect realism of movies in 2-D. Cameron's iteration is the bestI've seen -- and more importantly, one of the most carefully-employed.The film never uses 3-D simply because it has it, and doesn'tpromiscuously violate the fourth wall. He also seems quite aware of3-D's weakness for dimming the picture, and even with a film setlargely in interiors and a rain forest, there's sufficient light. I sawthe film in 3-D on a good screen at the AMC River East and wasimpressed. I might be awesome in True IMAX. Good luck in getting aticket before February.

It takes a hell of a lot of nerve for a man to stand up at the Oscarcast and proclaim himself King of the World. James Cameron just got re-elected.

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Computer animation is an art in of itself....I think this will be an amazing film. The actors get to use their voices, just like in all of the animated cartoon films......many enjoy the change of pace in a whole different approach to acting.

The reviews say we will "care" about the characters and what happens to them....somthing not all films do these days.

_________________Romans 12:12Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

I saw Avatar yesterday. Good heavens ! It will be a long time before anyone can equal it let alone surpass it. It will stand with The Titanic, and the Lord of the Rings series as unique in film making while surpassing both of those for sheer technical brilliance. Be sure to see it in 3D, it's a new process, much better than the old two-color cardboard glasses. The process mutes the colors slightly (peek over the top of the glasses to confirm this) and darkens the scenes slightly, but after awhile you don't notice either effect. And he uses 3D in a logical, realistic way not in a "shock value" way like the old 3D movies always did.....but I did flinch one time....

There is a couple of unanswered questions that only a S-F geek would notice.....I'll bring them up later.

Now off for some Christmas shopping.....shudder.....take pity....but at least on-line research has narrowed down where I have to go, and it's weird that Best Buy sells the item I want only online and doesn't stock t in stores, but Wal-Mart does....

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Saw it in 3D no IMAX in town. It's amazing and brilliant and you must see it!

Ten thousand things I want to say but my mind is still reeling...after wearing the glasses and being "in" that world it's kinda hard to adjust back.

So, I'm just going to speak to some thoughts about 3D. In the middle of the previews we were told to put our glasses on...we thought the movie was starting. Previews of 3 movies that will be out early next year are 3D so the wave of the future is here now. Soon you will be seeing everything in 3D and not far after that..you won't need the glasses. Remember the hologram of the shark that came out of the theater in the 3rd Back to the Future movie? That technology is here already..just not in public use yet. Also there is a place in the movie where all the computer screens which are thin and clear and show the tracking etc. A guy comes along and pulls the info from one screen with his hand onto a smaller screen he carrys with him. I've actually seen that in the new software we have at work. I don't pretend to even understand how that is done...but I have seen it with my own eyes.

Yes, I'll have to go see it again. And where the movie left off...screams sequel..IMHO.

_________________On the field of the Self stand a knight and a dragon. You are the knight. Resistance is the dragon.

A viewer watching a 3D display at CES 2009.(Credit:Marguerite Reardon/CNET)

A new television network featuring 24-7 three-dimensional contentwill be coming to your home in 2011. The venture is backed by DiscoveryCommunications, owners of the Discovery Channel and its family ofnetworks, Sony, and Imax.According to the companies, all three firms will hold equal share inthe joint venture. The goal, the companies wrote in a joint release, isto drive "consumer adoption of 3D televisions" and become a "long term"leader in the 3D home marketplace. When it launches, the network willbe available only in the United States, but the companies did say theywould explore international opportunities in the future.So far, the 3D network doesn't have a name. But when it launches,the companies said it will feature "content from genres that are mostappealing in 3D, including natural history, space, exploration,adventure, engineering, science and technology, motion pictures andchildren's programming from Discovery, Sony Pictures Entertainment,Imax, and other third-party providers."As you might expect, Discovery will oversee network services andtelevision rights. Sony will handle advertising sales and work with theindustry to license television rights "to current and future 3D featurefilms, music-related 3D content, and game-related 3D content." AlthoughSony didn't say so in the release, it's probably safe to assume thatall 3D content related to Sony Pictures, Sony BMG, and Sony's gamestudios will make their way to the channel.For its part, Imax will "license television rights to future 3Dfilms, [engage in] promotion through its owned-and-operated movietheaters across the U.S., and [offer] a suite of proprietary andpatented image enhancement and 3D technologies."The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Assuming thatregulatory approval is secured, the network should go live in 2011.But that's not allESPN will also be delivering the first 3D television network to the home in June this year, USA Today is reporting.Dubbed ESPN 3D, the channel will deliver more than 85 live sportingevents in three dimensions. It won't run reruns, so the channel will bedark when no current sporting event are being aired. The USA Today saysESPN 3D will broadcast the Summer X Games, NBA events, as well ascollege basketball and football games.To access either of the new 3D networks, users will need a 3D-capable TV, as well as 3D glasses. In other words, the barriers to entry are a bit high,but it's a new technology that has some excited. Now we'll just have towait and see if it can become a new standard in the marketplace.

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My Samsung DLP TV says it is "3D ready", I didn't know what that would mean at present but then found this gadget on the Samsung site. It appears to be used with DVDs but I'm wondering if it will also work with the upcoming 3D network shows... I imagine that Samsung will change something, if necessary, to make it so. So maybe I won't have to get a new TV in order to watch network 3D content. I already have all the necessary features....PC connected to TV with HDMI cable, Intel quad core CPU, Nvidia GT 8600 graphics card, and 64 bit Vista. I might get this thing and see how it works......will let you know.

3D Kit for Plasma and DLP

Unlock the 3-D capability of the latest SamsungDLP® and Plasma HDTVs by purchasing the 3-DStarter Pack!

After connecting a suitable PC or home mediacenter to the Samsung 3-D DLP or Plasma HDTVand plugging the transmitter into the HDTV, installDDD’s TriDef® 3-D Experience software, put on thelightweight wireless 3-D glasses, and you’re readyto enjoy a wide range of 3-D content.

The 3-D Starter Pack includes software thatenables any 2-D DVD to be viewed in 3-D inreal-time, with controls that allow the 3-D effect tobe adjusted.

Applications such as Google EarthTM can beviewed in 3-D, as well as the latest PC games!

RealD, a company whose 3D display technology already is widely used inmovie theaters, has enlisted a raft of prominent partners for the TVindustry: Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, JVC, Samsung, and DirecTV.

Vuzix builds two displays directly into its Wrap 920AR glasses.(Credit:Vuzix)

This week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, RealD announced deals that will bring its technology to Samsung products, Toshiba's ZX900 TV, Panasonic's Full HD 3D Viera TVs, Sony's Bravia HDTVs, and LCD monitors from JVC.Beverly Hills, Calif.-based RealD also announced it's cooperating with those same companies for 3D eyewear.Being able to display the 3D imagery is one part of thetransition. Getting the imagery to the TV is another matter. There,RealD announced a partnership with DirecTV."We look forward to working with RealD and our programmingproviders to deliver 3D content later this year to owners of 3D-capableTVs," DirecTV Chief Technology Officer Romulo Pontual said in astatement. "No new set-top boxes will be required."Closer toward the eyeball part of the 3D pipeline, Gunnar Optics announced RealD-capable 3D glasses at CES available this quarter. Prescription versions will arrive in the third quarter, the company said.RealD, which uses polarized light to separate imagery for theleft and right eyes, isn't the only contender for 3D technology. XpanD,which uses liquid crystal to briefly make one side or the other of itseyewear briefly opaque, announced a 3D partnership with Vizio.XpanD also announced a range of X102 and X103 glasses invarious colors. XpanD uses Bluetooth to synchronize the glasses'behavior with the imagery on the TV screen.And if you want to sidestep the whole issue of 3D displays, youcan try Vuzix's Wrap 920AR stereo display glasses, which build twoseparate 1504x480-pixel displays into the glasses themselves to createstereoscopic vision. The glasses monitor position and orientation so aperson's view can be adjusted according to head position, and they haveexternal cameras that can feed in what a person would ordinarily seewithout the glasses. Sounds handy for the budding concept of augmentedreality.

XpanD announced two models of 3D glasses.(Credit:XpanD)

Stephen Shankland writes about a wide range of technology and products,but has a particular focus on browsers and digital photography. Hejoined CNET News in 1998 and since then also has covered Google, Yahoo,servers, supercomputing, Linux and open-source software, and science. E-mail Stephen, or follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/stshank.

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DirecTV has announced three 3D channel for this next summer. They will likely be pay-per-view or On-Demand. They launched a new satellite in December that will be broadcasting in a few months and that is probably where they will have the capacity for those channels. Supposedly the software in the current DirecTV HD receivers can be upgraded to handle the 3D channels. I don't, however, have a compatible TV and won't be in the market for quite a while. Too many TVs already.

Hollywood is preparing to re-release some past hits, including StarWars and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, in 3-D following therecord-breaking success of Avatar.Studio executives are drawing up schedules of popular films thatwill be “retro-fitted” with 3-D technology after the science fictionblockbuster, directed by James Cameron, last week became the secondhighest grossing movie of all time.A 3-D version of Avatar has driven ticket sales to more than $1.14billion (£700m) in just three weeks; only Titanic, Cameron’s 1997 epic,has made more money at the box office.Rival studios had been waiting to see if Avatar took the 3-Dexperience — albeit using special glasses — beyond the popularity ofanimated tales such Monsters vs Aliens.

Experts now predict that 3-D will become the new multiplex standardwithin five years. This will be as dramatic a shift as when the“talkies” killed off silent movies in the early 20th century.Retro-fitting a screen classic with 3-D imagery could take as littleas four months, using software to manipulate a digital copy of the film.Peter Jackson, director of The Lord of the Rings, said last springthat he wanted to reissue the trilogy in 3-D if Avatar persuaded enoughcinemas to put in new 3-D projectors. Last week technicians at Weta,the production company that had worked on the trilogy, said they hadexperimented with 3-D battle scenes and proclaimed them to be“gob-smacking”.The Lord of the Rings is expected to be re-released after Jacksonhas finished producing the two-part version of JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbitover the next two years. This would mean that a 3-D version of TheFellowship of the Ring, the first part of the trilogy, could be incinemas by Christmas 2012.It may be beaten to the screen by a revamped version of Star Wars.George Lucas, the director, spent $13m filming the original in 1976,added special effects in 1997 and 2004, and will now spend another $10mto change it into a 3-D spectacular.“George cannot leave it alone,” said an associate. “He is salivatingat the opportunity to play with it again. This time the Death Star isreally going to explode all over the audience and leave them gasping.”At the moment there are only half a dozen companies that can turn reels of celluloid into 3-D digital movies.Last week one of the leaders, Legend Films in San Diego, saidtelephones had been “ringing off the hook” as Hollywood bosses seek torevive past glories.“We can turn an older film into 3-D in around 16 weeks,” said BobbyJaffe, the chairman. “It mostly suits action films, such as Top Gun orThe Matrix, but Avatar proved it’s best to use the technology toimmerse the audience in the story rather than throw things at them.This is the new, more sophisticated era of 3-D.”The “Avatar effect” means that conventional 2-D films commissionedlast year are already being updated. Sir Ridley Scott has asked for afurther $8m from his backer, Universal Films, to add an extra dimensionto his untitled Robin Hood venture starring Russell Crowe in the leadrole and Cate Blanchett as Maid Marian. Two versions of the film willbe released in May.Last week the University of Southern California (USC) published areport suggesting that after seeing a 3-D film in the cinema in 2009,40% of people would prefer to watch television in 3-D, too.“It will quickly become the new norm,” said David Wertheimer,director of USC’s entertainment technology centre. “It’s no longer agimmick, but an expectation.”They will not have long to wait. Last week in Las Vegas, Sony andLG, its Korean rival, revealed 3-D television sets, still requiringspecial glasses, which will go on sale this summer. Panasonic showed aprototype 3-D television with a giant 152in screen, perhaps moresuitable for pubs and for showing advertisements in shopping centresthan for home viewing.Broadcasters are also gearing up to meet demand. Sky is preparing totransmit matches from the football World Cup in South Africa thissummer on a dedicated 3-D channel, even if few homes will have the newtelevisions by then. “Few had high-definition televisions when westarted broadcasting in HD either, but it shows the future,” said oneexecutive.The pace of change is accelerating. The first 3-D films on Blu-Ray,the successor to the DVD, will be released by Christmas. They will be amixture of 2010 hits and remastered old favourites.One other advantage of 3-D that has encouraged the film studios isthe fact that, at least for the time being, it is pirate-proof. Avataris estimated to have been illegally downloaded at least 1m times overthe internet, but such 2-D copies do not match the cinematic experience.“It’s only a matter of time before a teenager develops a 3-Dstealing camera, but meanwhile Hollywood has a breathing space to earnsome money,” said a studio executive.

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The Lord of the Rings is expected to be re-released after Jacksonhas finished producing the two-part version of JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbitover the next two years. This would mean that a 3-D version of TheFellowship of the Ring, the first part of the trilogy, could be incinemas by Christmas 2012.

I think that would be very cool! I LOVE LOTR's!!! I didn't carefully read the whole article ... do you have to have a special TV to watch 3-D at home or just wear the 3-D glasses?

Star Wars and Matrix (only watched the 1st one) would be cool too!

_________________"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to dance in the rain."

You have to have a TV designed for 3D, several on the market now, no doubt a lot more in the future as 3D content becomes more common, and prices will come down. I'm still trying to verify if my Samsung is 3D capable, it says so, but it's 2 years old and I don't know if they could have incorporated the new 3D technology in it that long ago. I'm going to try to contact Samsung customer service and see what they say.

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